Phrasal-Adjectives – Letter A

– Adjectival Phrases – Letter A –

Aa

Alive And Well– This is an adjectivephrase which is used to describe someone or something (like an ideology, philosophy, etc.) that is still very much in existence. This phrase is usually used when the truth of the matter seems amazing, incredible or hard-to-believe… “Amazingly, racism and bigotry are still *alive and well* in many places throughout the world.”

(one’s)BatteriesAre Dead – This is an Idiomatic Adjectival Phrase that, used figuratively, means that one no longer has any energy; that he or she is very tired – either physically or mentally…

“I had such a hard day, my batteries are completely dead!” – (Notice also that this phrase is separable – See Also: “To Recharge One’s Batteries”)

“Business As Usual” – This is an Idiomatic Adjectival Phrasal-Noun that can be used in a lot of different ways, but it is usually used to describe how “bad” things seem to keep happening over and over again (usually in business and politics.)

“The president was practically worshiped for his “prophecy” of “Change that People Can Believe In…”, but as we can all see, it’s just business as usual.”

(to be) Full of Anger – We use this adjectivephrase to describe when a person is very angry because the feeling of anger can completely take over a person so completely that that person is not able to think about anything else than the thing which is making him or her angry, therefor he or she is “Full” of anger. (it is also common to say “[to be] Filled With Anger“. The difference is that “Full of…” usually describes a person who is always that way, and “Filled with…” describes a temporary condition.)

(to)Tick AllThe Boxes –This is an IdiomaticAdjectivalVerbPhrase. Though the word “tick” is a verb, this is not describing an action. Instead it is using the idea of an action to describe the thing. “Ticking Boxes” is something that is done in a check-list to ensure that something meets all requirements or is up to specification… So to say that something “Ticks All The Boxes” means that whatever is being described has all of the things necessary to fulfill certain requirements. – (See Also: “(to) Hit/Punch/Push All the Right Buttons“)